Caxton magazines staffJane Wood of Gameal’s Cedar Cafe (012 460 9797) and her brother, landscaper Anthony Koury (083 263 1482), prepare an exotic feast that celebrates their Lebanese heritage
INGREDIENTS
For the battered aubergine:
- 2 aubergines, thinly sliced into discs
- 100g cake flour
- 125ml soda water
- sunflower oil, for frying
- coarse sea salt
For the chickpea dip:
- 2 x 375g tins of good-quality chickpeas
- 10ml salt
- 2–3 cloves garlic
- 25ml of sesame tahini
- 80–100ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
- cayenne pepper, olive oil and chopped parsley, to garnish
To serve:
- fresh pita breads
- Tabbouleh (parsley salad)
- olives
METHOD
To make the battered aubergine:
1. Place the sliced aubergines in salt water for a minimum of one hour. Drain, rinse and dry well.
2. Whisk together the flour and soda water to form a smooth batter with a runny consistency.
3. Dip individual slices of aubergine in the batter and fry in sunflower oil until golden brown and crisp. Drain on kitchen paper and sprinkle with salt.
To make the chickpea dip:
1. Drain the chickpeas, reserving some of the liquid from the tins.
2. Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until a smooth purée, adding some of the chickpea liquid, if necessary. (Adjust the amount of salt and lemon juice you add to taste.)
3. Decant the dip into a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the cayenne pepper and chopped parsley.
This recipe serves 6 – 8.
